A Doggone Good Show: 'The sport of dogs' fostered at annual Apple Valley Kennel Club show

Sunday

Apr 9, 2017 at 7:33 PMApr 9, 2017 at 10:54 PM

Charity Lindsey Staff Writer @DP_Charity

VICTORVILLE — The participants of the Apple Valley Kennel Club Dog Shows are more than just handlers and breeders — they’re a family, they say, bound together by a love for man’s best friend.

A total of 819 dogs were on the lower campus field of Victor Valley College on Sunday, just shy of the 824 that participated Saturday. The weekend’s events were the 44th and 45th annual shows from the AVKC, which is licensed by the American Kennel Club.

Owners and professional dog handlers wore blazers with entry numbers displayed on their sleeves as they guided their dogs on short leashes around judging panels and endlessly groomed their coats — brushing, clipping, shaving, smoothing.

They do it simply “because they love dogs,” AVKC Show Chairman Carole Parker said.

“They love the sport of dogs,” Parker said. “Like those who love basketball or baseball. It really is a sport. Instead of putting the golf (ball) around, you drag your dog around.”

The shows included seven groups of dogs, with winners placing first through fourth in each and all of the first place winners competing for “best of show” in the end. Saturday’s winner was a Boxer, which is a breed from the “Working” group, along with Doberman and Huskies. “Sporting” dog breeds include retrievers and spaniels while “Hound” includes dachshunds (a.k. Weiner dogs) and whippets. The other groups are “Terrier,” “Toy” — “the little, tiny dogs” like pugs, Parker said, “Non-sporting” and “Herding” such as the Old English Sheepdog.

Johnny Shoemaker, a judge since 2001 and former breeder and exhibitor, described it as “a difficult process” to learn all of the breeds, including the new ones that are continuously introduced, but also very rewarding.

“I think it’s a learning process,” Shoemaker, a 71-year-old Las Vegas resident, said. “Over the years I have studied very hard. And the dog show world is about a family. Everyone wants to win — it’s a very competitive sport — but in the end, they’re always there to help you and support you.”

Handler and breeder Lenard Clayton of Lake Elsinore echoed the sentiment, adding that when they’re traveling from show to show, everyone “looks out for each other, just like you would your biological family.”“There is a lot of tradition, a lot of sportsmanship, and there’s a lot of love,” Clayton said as he guided an 11-month-old French Bulldog on a leash.

He explained that “as a breeder, you have a lot of responsibility,” including “the care, the training, the diet,” and having “a very good understanding of genetics and phenetics.”

“They go hand-in-hand — you can’t have one without the other,” Clayton said. “It’s actually pretty neat to watch it manifest and come together to give you beautiful puppies.”

While his Bulldog wasn’t in the show Sunday, he had her there to “acclimate” her.

“It’s not so much about the people. They’re used to people,” Clayton said. “But it’s all the barking and everything. You’re just teaching them how to be themselves in an environment that can be very stressful.”

The dogs around the field seemed mostly calm, heads held high as they received praises from passerby, with very rare moments of excitement in which one might growl at another or try to break free. The handlers know “they must be in control,” Parker said.

But dogs shows “just aren’t what they used to be,” Parker said, due to less participation, partly because of the expense.

“It’s not cheap to own an animal, and it’s definitely not cheap to show them,” Parker said.

Shoemaker said the AKC is making efforts to “get more young people involved,” but noted that it’s more about quality over quantity anyways.

“We’re not looking for numbers. We’re looking for good dogs,” Shoemaker said. “We’re always going to have people interested in showing.”

Charity Lindsey may be contacted at clindsey@vvdailypress.com or 760-951-6245. Follow her on twitter @DP_Charity.

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